At least 70 people were killed and 30 injured during an attack near Petite-Riviere in Haiti's breadbasket Artibonite region, according to the human rights group Defenseurs Plus. This figure is significantly higher than official estimates, which initially reported approximately 16 dead. The attack began in the early hours of Sunday in rural communities around Jean-Denis and continued into Monday morning, with gang members storming the area and setting homes on fire.

Defenseurs Plus estimated that 6,000 people had been displaced by the violence, while the United Nations stated that more than 2,000 had left their homes in the days prior following raids by armed gangs nearby. A spokesperson for the UN secretary-general told a news briefing that the organization's office in Haiti, BINUH, was closely monitoring the events, with estimates ranging from 10 to 80 killed, and called for a thorough investigation.

In a joint statement with the Collective to Save the Artibonite, Defenseurs Plus criticized the authorities, saying, "The lack of a security response and the abandonment of Artibonite to armed groups demonstrate a complete abdication of responsibility by the authorities." An audio message circulating on social media, attributed to Gran Grif leader Luckson Elan, allegedly stated the attack was retaliation for assaults on the group's base in Savien by a rival armed faction.

Haiti's National Police deployed three armored vehicles, but their progress was slowed by holes dug in the road by gang members. Officials reported that the armed group was fleeing when police arrived, and several houses had already been burned down. The injured were taken to a local hospital, and the dead to two morgues, with police launching an operation to track down the fleeing gang members. Defenseurs Plus estimated that 50 houses were destroyed in the arson.

The Artibonite region, a key agricultural area, has experienced some of Haiti's worst violence, with gang conflict extending beyond the capital, Port-au-Prince, despite more aggressive policing and promises of increased foreign support for Haiti's security forces. Since 2021, close to 20,000 people have been killed in Haiti, with the death toll rising annually as increasingly independent and powerful armed gangs clash with security forces and local vigilante groups. Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm, which coordinates hundreds of gangs in the capital, have been designated as "terrorist" organizations by the United States regime, accused of mass killings, gang rapes, arson, and trafficking. This weekend's attack marks the latest in a series of massacres in the area, largely attributed to Gran Grif.

Source: www.aljazeera.com